Svend Andersen

Svend Andersen is a contemporary watchmaker.

Svend Andersen was 1942 born in Denmark. After primary school, he completed a four-year watchmaker apprenticeship. With his diploma from the Danish School of Watchmaking, which then belonged to the Royal Institute of Technology, Copenhagen, he went to Switzerland in 1963 to see how the world's best watches are made. He worked for Gübelin Lucerne and in 1965 went to Gübelin Geneva, where he also worked in the store service because of his good language skills.

1969 he built the first bottle watch (watch in a bottle), which was shown on the Montres et Bijoux . This exceptional watch aroused attention and earned him the reputation of “Watchmaker of the impossible”. Never before had a similar watch been seen, as was reported in the international press.

By this watch the renowned traditional company Patek Philippe became aware of Andersen and engaged him in 1969 for its “Atelier de complications”. He remained there for nine years and worked on complicated watches for highest demands.

Equipped with a lot of experience, Svend Andersen in 1979 took the plunge into self-employment and opened his own watch workshop.

In 1989 he created his first world timer Communication, followed by a special series Communication 24 , of which the number 1 is worn by the Prince Consort Henrik of Denmark.

Another special watch by Svend Andersen is the world's smallest calendar, which in 1989 was listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

Another creation from him is the 1992 resulting World Time anniversary clock Christopher Columbus . This is a numbered series of 500 pieces in cases of yellow, white or rosé gold or in platinum.

1993 followed the calendar Perpetual 2000 in Art Déco design. There are no daily, weekly or monthly indications on the dial, only the date is given in a very large window. They say this is the only legible perpetual calendar, which is currently on the market. On the back of the watch is a 4×12-month indicator, by which the calendar can be accurately adjusted.

1994 Svend Andersen worked again at his great passion, the world timer. The result was the Mundus series with 24 pieces. This is the world's thinnest world timer; it is only 4.2 mm thick in a platinum case, waterproof, with two sapphire crystals.

In the same year Svend Andersen created, in collaboration with Alain Silberstein, the Jewish wristwatch with calendar Hebraica. This is a world premiere, a real mechanical watch and technics specialty. The ingenious calendar mechanism in 1996 received an additional extension, namely the watch Perpetuel Secular Calender (written by him like this), the first wristwatch that is equipped with a perpetual calendar which is a hundred percent correct. Because the watch has a gear that turns only once in every 400 years It calculates the missing leap year 2100.

In 1997 Svend Andersen developed the Eros , a wristwatch with a sophisticated figure machine. This mechanical watch has classic looks and a solid gold case.

In 1998 the Montre à tact , the tactful watch, is created, according to an old idea of ​​Abraham-Louis Breguet, to not offend one's opponent by squinting at his watch. Therefore, the watch shows the time in a window on the flat side of the case between the lugs. This idea has been transferred to our epoch and to the wristwatch. From this new watch in 1999 the Date discrète was developed, also a watch with a discrete date.

Of course, also in the year 2000 something special had to be created, and that was the Perpetuel Impératrice, a ladies' watch with gold case of 32 mm diameter. It is the smallest wristwatch with perpetual calendar ever made. According to the system “Perpetual 2000” all unimportant informations are here moved to the back of the watch, so that the dial remains unchanged and is easy to read.

As a result of brisk inquiries the Jour et Nuit is now launched as Jour et Nuit Grande , with the signature ANDERSEN GENEVE on the dial.

2002 Svend Andersen presents in Basel the Orbita Lunae with a completely new moon phase indication.

In 2015, Andersen passed ownership of Andersen Genève SA to Pierre-Alexandre Aeschlimann, though he remains involved in the company.

Looking for like-minded people, together with Vincent Calabrese he founds in 1985 in Geneva the Académie Horlogère of Créateurs Independants (AHCI), the Academy of independent watch makers, whose board he is for 17 years.

• Perpetuel Secular Calender - The world's most complicated watch, watch world, 20.11.2005